XTX Topco Ltd Buys Shares of 8,648 ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,648 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 126.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,539 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ESCO Technologies by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,901 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in ESCO Technologies by 340.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,413 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,728,000 after buying an additional 34,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in ESCO Technologies by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,917 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ESE. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of ESCO Technologies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Benchmark lifted their target price on ESCO Technologies from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of ESCO Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

ESCO Technologies Trading Up 1.7 %

ESCO Technologies stock opened at $152.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 2.04. ESCO Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.11 and a fifty-two week high of $171.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.74 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $158.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.01.

ESCO Technologies (NYSE:ESE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.34. ESCO Technologies had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 10.44%. Equities research analysts forecast that ESCO Technologies Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ESCO Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. ESCO Technologies’s payout ratio is 7.51%.

ESCO Technologies Profile

ESCO Technologies Inc produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Test & Measurement. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines.